If you’ve ever charted a course toward a goal and quickly gave up, odds are you have an immunity to change. The antibodies to change build up fast and create an impenetrable wall. The wall of procrastination. And trust me, this wall is tougher than the one in The kingdom of the North in GOT!
People often procrastinate because they’re afraid of failing at the tasks that they need to complete. Rather, fear of failure promotes procrastination primarily when it reduces people’s sense of autonomy, or when people feel incapable of dealing with a task that they’re afraid to fail at.
I, myself being a professional procrastinator have had the experiences and watched it mess my life up closely. So, here’s our little push to y ’all so that you recognize it’s critical to proactively develop strategies to prevent it.
Before I jump right into the topic of how to lose your habits of procrastination, I’m gonna procrastinate a bit and enlighten you with what could be the possible causes of procrastination. Nope, I’m not crazy to be discussing the causes.
When you understand what causes procrastination, you can use these strategies to overcome it and reach your full potential.
Procrastination is the habit of avoiding urgent tasks despite negative consequences. When people procrastinate, they often delay priorities and instead focus on less important, more enjoyable, simpler tasks instead.
Let’s look at the most common issues at the heart of chronic procrastination, so you can start to create the life you want.
- Perfectionism
Perfectionism might seem like a desirable characteristic. But perfection is impossible to achieve, cause to err is human. Unless otherwise you’re reading this blog from Mars!
In the race of achieving perfection, we set unrealistic expectations.
Then we wait until the right moment, that perfect time when we cannot fail — that “right moment” that never arrives.
2. Avoidance
Find yourself wasting time- social media, email, video games, TV — even when you’re late on something important? (Statistics say that the average global internet user spends at least 2 hours on social media every day!)
Unpleasant or stressful tasks like finishing a large work project, preparing your taxes, or studying for a final exam cause unpleasant feelings like fear, stress, or inadequacy. Dragging your feet to do something and focusing on low-priority tasks is a form of unconscious avoidance. Rather than working on an important task, you spend time “led astray by the ‘visceral’ rewards of the present.” So for many, procrastination results as a default defense mechanism in the form of avoidance.
3. Low self-esteem
For people with low self-esteem, their minds constantly wrestle with the limited thinking patterns like a machine. What causes procrastination for them is believing their negative self-talk. Being too hard on yourself gets in the way of motivation and leads to patterns of procrastination.
4. Waiting until the last minute
Procrastinators often make the claim that they put off tasks because they “perform better under pressure.” They make a habit of waiting until the last minute to get that rush of euphoria at completing a task on time against the odds.
But this rarely works out as planned. People who have the “I’ll get around it” mentality don’t give themselves enough time to do something well. Putting off work until the last minute leads to mishaps and unnecessary errors that compromise the quality of their work.
5. Trouble focusing
Psychologists have found a strong link between difficulty concentrating and procrastination. For example, people with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often find it difficult to get a project started. Once they do, they have trouble knowing how to prioritize, plan, and stay on track.
6. Decision fatigue
Have you ever stared into a closet of clothing and said, “I don’t have anything to wear!”
We have so much available to us, that it can actually get in the way of getting things done. Think of the amount of time it takes to make a simple decision like what to wear when you have too many choices.
People often say they want options. But it takes mental energy to make decisions. As the saying goes, “Less is More”… and in this case more time and energy to focus on your core values.
7. Resisting challenges
Procrastination often happens when a challenge seems too difficult. A person avoids taking on a challenge out of fear that they won’t do a good enough job. They may not feel equal to the task and even carry anxiety or guilt, which makes them avoid the task even more.
So my dearest procrastinators, hope you’ve understood and identified your habits that you intentionally/ unintentionally have inculcated and have led you to procrastinating!
Stay tuned, I’m gonna hit you up with a few tips and tricks to overcome this absolute liability!
Maansee Bakhrey
Team zuperly
